The Georgetown Metropolitan

The announcement yesterday of the imminent closure of the Rhino Bar means that come March, there will be no more “college bars” left in the heart of Georgetown. Just ten years ago, such an outcome would seem impossible, but after a few years of relentless closures, the inevitable has come about.

Just think back a few years ago and list the rowdy bars that almost exclusively attracted college-aged (or very recently graduated) patrons:

• Third Edition: This one was legendary among GU students for its lax entry policies. And, of course, it was partially the model for the St. Elmo’s bar in St. Elmo’s Fire. It closed two years ago and became El Centro.
• Garrett’s: GM spent many hours at this bar in his early 20s. He’s not sure why. It closed in 2011.
• Mr. Smith’s: This piano bar abruptly closed last year, it immediately reopened in the space that Chadwick’s occupied. Which brings GM to:
• Chadwick’s: GM can speak from a brief personal experience that this bar was popular with GU students (at least in the late 90s) and that its entry standards were largely to blame.
• The Guards: This one was more popular with the post-collegiate set, particularly in W. Bush’s Washington when the formerly scuzzy basement became the still scuzzy Gryphon Room. There were lines of boat shoes out the door every Friday night.
• Champions: This sports bar at the end of the alley next to Benetton entertained drunk college kids for years before it briefly became the upscale Blue Gin. That didn’t last long, and the old Champions returned for a little while longer before closing a few years ago.
• Georgetown Billiards: GM loved this place. And it was popular with college kids primarily because you didn’t even need a fake ID to get in; it was 18 and over. This became the preppy list-restricted George-more popular with a slightly older 20-something crowd of transplant Southerners-which itself recently became Chinese Disco.

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Photo by Brian Roberts.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Yeah, that Vapor Fi place is a cheesy as GM expected.
• Some fun old Georgetown maps.

1700 block of 32nd St.

Last week, the local CBS news ran an expose on something all Georgetowners already knew: Jack Evans takes advantage of his parking privileges as Councilmember to park illegally a block away from his house without getting a ticket. It’s a subject GM himself looked into six years ago. But the real question isn’t whether Evans abuses his parking privileges, the question is does it matter?

Don’t get GM wrong, he hates seeing elected officials abuse their power. And nobody gets quite as indignant about their right to abuse that power as Evans and his parking. Last time GM wrote about this, he got an angry missive from Evans’ office. And when CBS’ Russ Ptacek confronted Evans, he essentially blew him off.  Continue reading →

Photo by Mark Andre.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Rhino Bar to close.
• Not for nothing, but Saturday night a GU student was assaulted on the same block.

1200 block of 33rd St.

Photo by MsSarahKelly.

In this world, there are unusual sights that would bewilder your senses and stupefy your logical mind. One of those is a thing called a cat cafe. It sounds fake, and to make a Portlandia joke at this point would just be cliche. But they are real; they even have a Wikipedia page.

As you probably have never even heard of a cat cafe, let alone visited one, GM should explain. It’s a cafe that has cats. Ok, maybe that was self-evident. What’s perplexing is why they open and how they pass health inspections. (Questions the Post has tried to answer.)

Which is all a long segue into the news: DC’s first cat cafe is coming to Georgetown. The Post interviewed the owner, Kanchan Singh, last week about her plans to open Crumbs and Whiskers. But when pressed to reveal the location, she wouldn’t budge:

Where are you in the process? Have you signed a lease on a place?

We’ve basically signed on the place, we’re not advertising it yet because a legally bound document has not been signed yet.

Can you tell me the general neighborhood?

I can’t.

What about the quadrant?

I’m just going to say D.C. for now.

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Photo by Daniel Lobo.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice recap of Georgetown 2028 update.
• Review of Orange Anchor.

1800 block of Wisconsin

GM passed this bike yesterday. It’s a nifty bike. If it were GM’s, he sure wouldn’t want it to be stolen. But nonetheless, he wouldn’t do what this bike owner did: lock it to a tree.

It might not seem like such a big deal to have a lock wrapped around a tree trunk. But it doesn’t take much to rub away the bark and give an opening to infection. It can significantly shorten the life of a tree. Continue reading →